#I just love the stories that family members share about like- haunting things

[mosaic-marquise]

Okey :3 before I forgor, I wanted to share one of my favorite videos to watch during the Holy Week and also Halloween because I'm a scaredy-cat and love times when my family gets together and the group conversation turns to the topic of local legends, hauntings, or strange experiences anyone has had.

One of my favorite channels is Homonica, here is a link to the video she made sharing stories from her family. I don't know how much it differs in other countries, but in Mexico, for the most important week of the year, people aren't supposed to go out (especially for Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Saturday of Glory/Sabado de Gloria (you know because they killed Jesus and he's in the tomb, it's supposed to be a somber time of contemplation etc, it's a very spiritual time)).

The biggest story in this video is about a 3 day trip that her aunt took to a place called "Tres Cruces" (Three Crosses) for the Easter weekend years ago and the things they experienced in the cabins. Here is the link >-< Do you have any scary story recommendations? :3 Video? Text/written story :D

[sierrawitch]

Celtic Customs: Death

by autumn sierra

In honor of my friend who just recently lost a loved one, and my sister who witnessed a tragic death that she was helpless to prevent, I thought it the proper moment to reflect and write on some Celtic death customs and traditions of remembering passed loved ones.

Scotland

Before burial, the body of recently passed relatives were kept in the home, dressed and in their own beds. Family and friends would throw a celebration in honor of their lives. The Scots view death as an opportunity to both mourn the loss of a soul, but to laugh and be merry in their memory to find balance in contrary. All the furniture in the departed’s home—especially mirrors—would be covered with white linens and everyone would play music, dance, sing, and share stories around the hearth to keep memories alive.

A traditional custom practiced by the older members of the family and community include a plate of salt and a plate of soil laid on the chest of the deceased person. The soil represents the body as a physical vessel, and the salt represent the purity of the soul. It was thought that without this ritual, the ghost would not be able to rest, and would haunt their family.

Another custom was to stay up at night and watch the body, also known as a lykewake. This is now seen as a sign of respect for the deceased, but in olden times people believed that the devil would steal the body of their loved one unless they kept safe watch over it. The youth of the family were given whiskey at the beginning of the night and some tea or beer with bread at some point in the middle of the night, and would take on this responsibility for the family. The watchers would tell stories, reminisce, and sometimes recite verses from the Bible.

It was also considered bad luck to see the body of the recently deceased without touching it. A week of bad dreams would follow unless this superstition was taken seriously.

Our perception of death in the modern world is one of detachment and taboo. Many people are squeamish about even seeing a dead body, much less watching or touching one in the night. But to the Celtic people, death was not a taboo thing which had to be hidden, as it is a natural, inevitable part of being alive.

The pivotal connecting moments of birth and death link the physical and metaphysical worlds to each other. Similar to the thinning of the veil during Samhain, we each witness a thinning of the veil when we are born, and when we die. In death, the spirit of the deceased moves across the veil and into the Otherworld, the lands of gods, sìth (spirits), and the deceased.

Ireland

The Irish are no strangers to pain and loss, having experienced famine, colonization, and poverty over its long history. There are many customs that have been cultivated over generations to venerate and remember the dead which are unique to their culture, but the Irish Wake is one of the most well known funeral traditions around the world.

Most likely giving root to Scottish customs, the tone of an Irish Wake is a time of mourning and celebration. It’s an opportunity to grieve and and honor life as a treasured miracle. Those attending an Irish Wake will participate and music making, singing, and drinking, especially if the deceased was an elderly member of the community, or ill long term. However, in the instance of a young person’s or child’s death, the wakes are much more solemn and respectful of the tragedy. Family and friends meet in the home of the deceased to recount memories together, grieve, and celebrate the life lost.

The exact origins of the Irish Wake are unknown, but it’s believed that it was heavily influenced by elements of Paganism and may have originated with the Ancient Celts. The Celts believed in life after death and thought that when a person died, they then moved onto a better life in the Otherworld. The Ancient Celts saw death only as a means for a new beginning, which is where the festivities come into play.

The Irish Wake incorporates the tradition of watching over the bodies of the deceased, and some say that the term ‘wake’ originates from the Irish tradition. Lit candles were placed closely around the body and tobacco was smoked by male attendees as they stood guard against the potential of the devil seizing the deceased. It was believed that the smoke would help keep malicious spirits at bay and stop the devil from stealing the soul. Clocks were also often stopped at the time of death and mirrors covered to further protect the body, as mirrors can act as portals to other—maybe not so friendly—worlds.

The Afterlife

In ancient Celtic religion, there was a belief in an afterlife in the Otherworld (as mentioned earlier), which is considered almost like a mirror of life on Earth but without disease, pain, and sorrow. This eliminated the aspect of fear when it came to passing on since the soul continues to live following its leaving the head (where it was believed to reside). Prayers were made to the Celtic gods, and sacrifices—both animal and human—food, weapons, and precious items were ritually offered to them to bless and allow safe passage of the deceased to the Otherworld.

The gods played a fairly significant role in the lives of the Ancient Celts as evidenced by their religious practices and the existence of protective amulets and talismans within their tombs. Alongside these, Celtic tombs and burial sites contained a wide range of objects, from tools to jewellery, which prepared the soul for the journey to the Otherworld (similarly to how the Egyptians prepared their deceased for the journey in the Duat).

Cremations & Burials

The Ancient Celts buried the deceased in tombs, and alternatively cremated their bodies, a practice beginning in the early second century. Excarnation was also not uncommon, during which the body was left exposed to the elements for a period and the bones were then either buried or kept for religious ceremony.

Burials of warriors and rulers were often rife with personal belongings and other treasures including weapons, armour, gold jewellery, and even large objects like chariots and waggons. Other common items included tools, extra clothing, grooming equipment, oil lamps, food, drink, eating utensils, and gaming counters, again, in preparation for their journey through the veil.

How do these customs compare to the ones of your culture, and your family?

What is your perception of death in relation to life, and how does it mentally or emotionally affect you?

Are you afraid of death? Why?

If you could personify who or what death is, what would that look like?

I urge everyone to challenge their instilled views of what death is and what it means not only for the people witnessing it, but also for those who go through its process. Many people fear that unknown reality, but it’s something we all share and experience eventually in life. You’re never truly alone. And isn’t that thought a bit comforting?

[deathbypufferfish]

It's finally done cooking, my sims gameplay ideas list! After scouring all types of sites, generators, lists, and my brain for ingredients, I've come up with a list stew that hopefully will spark some inspiration for your sims gameplays!

This non exhaustive list consists of ideas that are applicable to sims gameplay/things to do in-game. AKA things that can be played out in the sims or half pretended. If you're looking for less-gameplay story ideas, I recommend my story/conflict idea list. Most of the conflict and love ideas are on that list. Please feel free to send asks to add to the gumbo! Just note in your ask that it's for the gumbo and keep it applicable/feasible for gameplay. (To keep the post from getting too long I'll make a contributor list into a compressed image later on for those who send off-anon.)

If you are looking for more complex, in-game story ideas check out the Story Soup list here!

🍲 Gumbo below the cut! ⬇

Single Sim Gameplay:

Learn an instrument

Learn a new skill

Start a seashell collection (Island Living)

Have a sim get a bad haircut

Enroll an Adult/Elder sim in university

Use a skill you don’t usually play with

Become a mountain climber

Build a Servo

Take care of local strays

Use more likes/dislikes

Conflict:

Drop out of or fail university

Drop out or fail out of highschool

Talk badly about another sim in your house to other sims

Sim loses their job

Failed retail business

Family:

Foster a child

Parties for children

Have a baby shower

Have a slumber party

A grandparent/other family member moves in with your main household

Have a specific family holiday tradition besides the in-game ones

Family bike rides

Game night

Parent trains child in their sport

Family hikes at Granite Falls

Family volunteering

Bake sale (entrepreneur table)

Have a family photoshoot

Have teens study at the library

Have your teen go through a bad fashion phase

Host an exchange student

Make school picture day photos (Teen poses, children poses)

Have an arts & crafts day

Go fishing as a family

Have a specific weekly meal (spaghetti night, a fancy meal)

Make ice cream together (Cool Kitchen Stuff)

Wear matching pajamas for holidays

Have a bake off

Play with voidcritters (Kids Room Stuff)

Granola family (camping, hiking, low tech, simple living)

Play in a multi-generational household

Adopt

Family reunion

Unexpected baby

Have siblings share a room

Social/Activities:

Sports party night (e.g. watching the superbowl, world cup, etc)

Start a book club (with clubs)

Have a themed kids birthday party (Here’s a helpful website for ideas)

Have a potluck (buffet tables)

Garden party

Neighborhood party

Neighborhood holiday decorating contest

Host a haunted house in your home

Picnic

Barbeque party

Go to the arcade

Go regularly to restaurants (Dine Out Reloaded Mod to make restaurants tolerable)

Have an out of control party (maybe a teen party)

Go camping

Go to an Ice skating rink/roller skating rink

Spa day (at home or at a spa)

Make an army of snowpals

Movie night

Stargazing night/camp out in the backyard

Weekly bowling night

Museum trip

Karaoke night at home

Campfire night

Pool day

Weekly meetups with friends at a cafe

Try on wedding dresses with a bridal party

Have someone stay over (Growing Together)

Love:

Hook up with a service sim

Have a vacation romance

Have a “meet the parents” moment

Have an affair

Divorce

Marital fight

Rejected proposal

Throuple/Open Relationship (Open Love Life Mod)

Left at the altar

Use fear of commitment, jealous, or unflirty trait

Create a rocky marriage

Challenges:

Spend too much money on a vacation

Play with lot challenges

Use simple living (only cook with ingredients and do grocery orders)

Don’t clean up after sims (don’t drag plates, laundry, trash)

Use the Reduce and Recyle lot challenge for realism

Use the Filthy lot challenge to make cleaning harder

Lose a large sum of money

Randomize your sims’ traits as they age up

Household:

Have puppies and kittens

A serious house fire (either with cheating or with fireworks. There is also a mod for more intense fires here

Spring cleaning

Garage sale

Visit houses before you move into them

Create a storage room/attic (Eco Living boxes, Discover University chest, toy chest, treasure chest etc) Use this for old heir’s items if you are playing a legacy

Start a garden (herb, vegetables)

Renovate the house

Watch what your pets are doing

Adopt a stray animal

Teach your pets tricks

Upgrade objects

Have a home bar/rec room

Go on a vacation

Play with roommates (additionally have them be odd, difficult, or a romance option)

Have an always messy home

Hire a live-in butler

Hire a regular maid

Location:

Play in a sustainable community on one of the islands/isolated areas. (community farm, community space, homes)

Play in a tiny home (Tiny Living)

Play in a haunted house residential (Paranormal Stuff)

Become an Archaeologist. Live in Sulani and regularly visit Selvadorado for work

Career/Business:

Bookstore

Art gallery: sell your paintings or buy them off Plopsy/Buy Mode

Bakery

Play a career you don’t usually play

Winter sports store in Mt. Komorebi

Own a farmstand for your produce (Eco Lifestyle entrepreneur table) You can even build a small building for it on your property!

Pet supplies store 

Plant store

Tourist gift shop

Mattress/Bed   store

Florist shop (Flower Arranging Skill)

Juicery (Juice Fizzing Skill)

Yoga studio (host classes at a retail business or at a home studio)

Start a Bed and Breakfast/AirBnB with the roommate system

Become a celebrity in a path besides Actor/Actress (Author, Chef, Video Creator, Skier, etc.)

Food truck (Restaurant)

Fish stall (Entrepreneur table)

Make a living on Plopsy

Wool store (Cottage Living)

Natural health store (Herbalism)

Resources Used

ADAM DRIVER GIF DISCLAIMER: YES I KNOW IT'S A STEW

[jabberwockprince]

SPINA VENATORES A small organization of mercenaries working for Manus Vindictae, tasked with erasing people from history as a way to call upon the "Storm". Their targets' names, families, influence and connections to this world will be dragged into oblivion.

Individual profiles and some more info/ramblings under the cut <3

The whole point of Spina Venatores is to be a parallel to Vertin's own independent group of Arcanists - the same way St. Pavlov's Foundation has her, Manus Vindictae has Venison and Spina. They're the mouth and teeth of Manus.

But whereas Vertin aims to create a safe, neutral space for Arcanists to thrive without human influence despite being tied to the Foundation, Venison is aiming to create a paradise for those they care about and no one else due to the heavy influence Arcana and Manus have on them.

Spinas Venatores is, at its core, a cult that was allowed to grow thanks to Venison's codependent and obsessive mindset - with them as the leader, all the troublesome and rebellious members of Manus Vindictae (that are much too powerful to get rid of or who are still clinging on to their former lives) will simply be assimilated into Spina or pressured to comply with Manus Vindictae as a whole. The third secret option is dying <3.

They also serve as a narrative device to remind everyone of the fact that, no matter how hard one may try, there's no way EVERYONE can be saved from the "Storm" - all five main members are related in some way or another to Arcanists that Vertin has met, they're people that weren't lucky enough to be taken in, who found themselves in the right time and place for Manus Vindictae to take advantage of their vulnerable state.

R1999 also portrays a LOT of oppression from various minorities that overlap with each other in very interesting ways, so I also wanted them to tackle similar things that mean so much to me - they're problematic queers is what I'm trying to say lmfao

The thing they share is that all of them are delusional to a degree, and that they're constantly haunted and defined by their relationships to others. The loss and discovery of the self through another, Ship of Theseus, cannibalism, body horror, being transgender as a really visceral and intimate experience, an obsession for love in all of its forms etc etc.

I don't have the FULL scope of their backstories, but I do know who they're tied to!

Venison was Pavia's coworker in a constant, obsessive loop of wanting to kill and save each other. Mutton was part of Schneider's mafia and romantically involved with one of her oldest sisters. Chevon was a regular visitor in Necrologist's museum and a friend of hers, she later went on to exhibit his many, many tombstones. Poultry is the "Lilian" mentioned in Darley Clatter's Stories. And Veal is a mystery even to me </3

Their uniforms are meant to look outrageous and outlandish, entirely out of place with the setting and their respective eras/times, inspired by fantasy - just BARELY reminiscent of Manus Vindictae by virtue of using a similar palette, as a way to drive that feeling of not belonging and delusion even harder.

Whereas everyone else is dealing with very real issues, all members of Spina Venatores live pretty much in their own heads (similar to Forget Me Not and how Manus Vindictae causes their recruits to become... YEAH.....THOSE MONSTERS....)

Venison gets the BIG COAT and the biggest silhouette because they're responsible for pretty much 80% of what happens within Spina Venatores! Veal gets the more simple design to allude to their whole unassuming, shapeshifter/Doppelganger thing.

They all have ribcage/bone motifs in one way or another, most of their jewels are meant to look like rosaries, they wear the Manus Vindictae silver cross and Arcana's blue color more often than regular members of Manus. Also! Hands!! Love the fuckin hands!! DID YOU GUYS SEE DIGGERS' MANUS VINDICTAE SKIN???? YEAH.

The naming convention being. types of different meats. is entirely because of Venison, you can ALSO blame that entirely on them <3

[idkjustlemmedrownlikerab]

Evermore (Marauder's Version)

@marsmarauders and I welcome you back to our Taylor Swift x Marauders series. We got carried away again but what's new about that huh? Anyways here you have every single song from Evermore related to the Marauders characters :D (I totally didn't forget about this series at all due to midterms, what r y'all talking about? Nope not me)

willow

"Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark, Show me the places where the others gave you scars"

Both of us wholeheartedly agree that this is for sure a wolfstar song. This particular lyric could go either way with scars Sirius has from his mother or the scars Remus has because of Greyback and his furry little problem and "Head on the pillow, I could feel you sneaking in, as if you were a mythical thing" bcoz obviously they shared a dorm for 7 yrs and mythical thing aka a werewolf!

champagne problems

"How evergreen, our group of friends, Don't think we'll say that word again"

WOLFSTAR. I feel like this isn't even an argument every single person in the fandom who listens to Taylor can agree on this, this song screams wolfstar from Sirius' pov. "She would've made such a lovely bride, what a shame she's fucked in the head," being said about Sirius ofc

And Tonks being the new real thing who will patch up the tapestry that Sirius shred

gold rush

"I don't like anticipating my face in a red flush, I don't like that anyone would die to feel your touch"

Now this is about unrequited love and I was certain from the beginning is about jegulus specifically from Regulus' pov talking about James pining after Lily for years when he was right there

'tis the damn season

"We could call it even, You could call me babe for the weekend, 'Tis the damn season,"

Seeing as the song talks about a fleeting relationship we couldn't help but think of this as Remus and Grant

tolerate it

"While you were out building other worlds, where was I? Where's that man who'd throw blankets over my barbed wire?"

BLACK BROTHERS. Like no discussion required at all this song screams Black Brothers from Regulus' pov like try and tell me that isn't Regulus talking about Sirius building a separate life for himself with the Gryffindors leaving Reg behind when he always used to be his protector, and now he's all alone. "I made you my temple, my mural, my sky, Now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life" this is soo Regulus Black coded

no body, no crime

"I think he did it but I just can't prove it, No, no body, no crime, But I ain't letting up until the day I die"

Upon a lot of discussion and deliberation we have come to the conclusion that this song is Regulus Black about Peter coz he saw him at a meeting and knows he's the spy but by this time his relationship with his brother is basically non existent and he knows Sirius won't believe him so he needs proof

But at the ending the pov changes to Peter, convincing everyone that Sirius was the spy and the murderer

happiness

"Haunted by the look in my eyes, that would've loved you for a lifetime, Leave it all behind and there is happiness"

Now this song we think could go two ways either with jegulus or with nobleflower coz the lyrics "I hope she'll be a beautiful fool, Who takes my spot next to you" and the whole song overall has this tone of the singer wanting their ex lover to lead a happy life without them while also having a very spiteful undertone due to not being a part of it and that screams Black family to us

dorothea

"Hey Dorothea, Do you ever stop and think about me? When we were younger, down in the park honey, making a lark of the misery

Now we have two interpretations for this Marls was thinking more of Remus and Mary from Remus' pov since they are the only two members left of their friend group and Mary was the one who fled, I on the other hand could also see another version which could be Snape talking about Lily, "You got shiny friends since you left town, A tiny screen's the only place I see you now"

coney island

"I'm on a bench in Coney Island, Wondering, where did my baby go?"

For this song while Marls wasn't that sure but I could see Nobelflower all over since the song talks about this badly ended relationship bcoz one of them (Narcissa) had started distancing themselves and acting strange, so the other (Alice) starts questioning their own existence and wondering if they are all alone now that their partner no longer feels known. This being coz Cissa is bound to her house and her duties, one of them being getting married to a pure blood and Alice starts to resent her for it even tho she knows she doesn't have much of a choice

ivy

"My pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand, Taking mine, but it's been promised to another"

Now ignoring the affair since we don't think any of them would do that, if we just look at the dying relationship and the beginning of a new one aspect of the song I can definitely see the end of bartylus and then Barty falling in love with Evan and thankfully Marls agrees with me on this

cowboy like me

"And the skeletons in both our closets, Plotted hard to fuck this up"

Both of us agree that is song is rosekiller all the way through bcoz it talks about two con artists who thought they never needed love but then they fall for each other?? Tell me that isn't sooo rosekiller coded

long story short

"And I fell from the pedestal, Right down the rabbit hole, Long story short, it was a bad time"

This is very obviously about Lily falling in love with James after Severus to the both of us, about how in hindsight that friendship wasn't really what she thought it was and now she is genuinely happy and it's all about James now

Tho Marls also suggested it about James and Lily getting together after he broke up with Regulus as well and while I do like it, I personally refuse to associate "Long story short, it was the wrong guy" with jegulus coz that just makes me sad :(

marjorie

"Should've kept every grocery store receipt, 'Cause every scrap of you would be taken from me"

This track again is Black Brothers coded but this time from Sirius' pov missing his brother after his death and regretting not mending their relationship bcoz there was still a part of him which hated his little brother for not running away with him

"What died didn't stay dead, You're alive, you're alive in my head"

closure

"It's been a long time, And seeing the shape of your name, Still spells out pain"

Evans sister. Yep that's it, it's Lily singing to Petunia about their broken relationship

evermore

"I replay my footsteps on each stepping stone, Trying to find the one where I went wrong"

In the words of our lovely Marls herself "REGULUS RIGHT BEFORE HE DIES LIKE RIGHT AS HE'S GOING DOWN TO THE CAVE, I TAKE NO CRITICISM"

And no criticism she had to take bcoz those were exactly my thoughts no discussion needed at all

right where you left me

"Help, I'm still at the restaurant, still sitting in a corner I haunt"

Now Marls sees this as Remus post war bcoz everyone other than him died (or fled in Mary's case) and left him alone and he couldn't move on from the fact for the longest time

And while I do love this interpretation I can also see jegulus after the break up from Regulus' pov, seeing James falling in love with Lily again and having a family "I'm sure that you got a wife out there, Kids and Christmas, but I'm unaware" "If our love died young, I can't bear witness" while he's still stuck there reminiscing their time together bcoz that's genuinely the happiest he's ever been

it's time to go

"Sometimes, givin' up is the strong thing, Sometimes, to run is the brave thing, Sometimes, walkin' out is the one thing"

Sirius Black. That's it. We hear no criticism at all, try and fight us about it and we will strangle you in ur sleep :D I'm not kidding we hope yk that for ur own safety

AND THAT'S ALL FOR TODAY!! Thank you for sticking with us even tho I was very late for this post, the next post probably won't take this long coz Marls is the one who's gonna post that, not me, but I hope u liked our opinions and if not, we'd love to hear urs

Make sure to come back to see Folklore, coming soon! (To a theater near you)

[chilldust]

Dreamflower Original Story MASTER POST

This post is a collection of facts and information about my original story universe, "Dreamflower", and the main storyline soon to be published on AO3, titled "May I Love You".

The post will be divided into sections under the cut, first section includes the basic synopsis and facts about the main characters and the environment. After each published chapter, any new characters introduced will get their own little section and a possible visual sketch of their character.

Dreamflower universe is very loosely based on my FNAF Animutant AU, but many things are made and flexed out to be so much different that this is a completely original story at this point, despite the main characters sharing some similarities with Sun and Moon from FNAF-

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Synopsis of the story:

Humans have always been afraid of things they aren't familiar with. When a new type of subspecies of humans started to appear after the late 60's they were terrified. Theories of alien invasion or the devil's advocates taking over the earth slowly, members of this new species, Animutants, were denied regular human rights, and often forced to live outside major cities, or sometimes even killed as a form of funded euthanasia.  Solros Ellis is a young adult who, despite being a human, has never had an easy life. Growing up in extreme poverty, bullied until he dropped out of school, abused by his alcoholic father, Solros has only wished for freedom. One morning, Solros wakes up to a new reality: he has turned into an Animutant overnight!  Learning what could possibly happen to him if he stays in the city, Solros runs away from his old life and meets Luan Costello, a guy of his age who was born as an Animutant, denied basic human rights and lived his whole life feeling like a burden to those around him. With Luan's help and kindness, Solros is getting adjusted to his new life as an Animutant and healing those wounds his old life left on him.  Will the difficulties of being considered something less than a human bring Solros just another set of unfortunate events, or was his mutation written in the stars so he could meet with Luan?

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Plutonia:

The story takes place in a made-up country called Plutonia.

Plutonia is an island country. It has its own indepedence, but works as a constitutional monarchy under the English Crown, just like Canada. 

On the world it's located underneath Newfoundland island, close to the North-East coast of the US.

Both Solros and Luan were born in Duskfort City. Solros lived there until his transformation. Luan's family lives up to the North in a small town called Bluebell. 

You can read more facts about the country from here.

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Main Characters:

More info about Solros:

More info about Luan:

Side characters (Luan's family and Solros' parents):

Other characters will go under the respective chapters they first appear in!

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Chapter 1:

Summary:

Luan Costello is an 18-year-old young man, who will soon graduate from high school, just waiting for his life to start. Except he has never gone to a normal school, has no real friends and is haunted by the fact he feels like a burden to his loving family. There's nothing wrong in his life, other than the fact he was born as an Animutant and denied a lot of basic rights in human society. Yet, he feels like something is still missing. An opportunity, maybe love; something that would make his life have a proper meaning. But he rarely leaves his house, doesn't spend time with people of his age, reads books and writes poems all day long. Is he really expecting his destiny just to walk up to his house and knock on his door? Well, guess what...

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[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

Tokyo Revengers but Mikey has the same coping mechanism as Sunny (Omori)

It's an incomplete post so anyone can add things if they want!

'Manjiro' will be used to talk about irl!Mikey while 'Mikey' will refer to Headspace!Mikey

Sanzu is called Haruchiyo and takes on Basil's role (aKa he's important but Mikey doesn't want to either make him tag along/a member of the party or to confine him on the picnic blanket)

'Sanzu' would be The Stranger

Takemichi also has The Stranger role (in timelines where he truly left an impression on Mikey - so probably not in the first two unfortunately)

Shinichiro and Emma both play Mari's role

-> Shinichiro & Takemichi being the only one to call Mikey Manjiro

Senju and Izana share a common role (in Bonten)

The party is made of Toman founding members

Baji, Kazutora, Pah-chin have a dynamic similar to Aubrey and Kel

Draken takes on Hero's role, Mitsuya too, a bit

Draken is the one who takes pictures!!! (like in canon :) )

-> "Did I take this photo? Something about it feels so familiar... No... Emma, she's-"

(Draken has little flags to make Mikey (or other party members) happy during fights)

(Mitsuya is the one who can cook)

Unbread Twins = Kawata Twins (with their ramen shop ofc, no bakery here)

other members are a bit scattered everywhere, mostly the playground ofc (which is a mix of: Toman's gathering place, the playground Baji&Mikey used to play in as children with a huge jungle gym), and the garden and dojo in the Sano house)

There's also the beach which can be reached mostly by Toman members

There's a train but they move around in motorbikes (and Mucho's car)

Motor shop to fix the bikes! Shinichiro can be found there with other BD members :)! (for some reasons, Mikey doesn't like it when Baji and Kazutora are there, so they have to find alternatives to fix their bikes (most of the time they ask another party member to take their bike))

Somehow, Manjiro subconsciously remember the story of Taiyaki-kun so there's a lake where Taiyaki-kun lives (he wants to leave but he can't :( )

It's the dreamworld so everyone is happy and has good relationships with everyone else

Somwhere there's a plane. It doesn't fly, but it's there, lying on the ground. It mustn't broke. (when it does, it leads to Blackspace) (Sanzu always tries to lead Mikey here)

Manjiro/Mikey don't fear a lot of things but things that may upset/trigger them are: mirrors/any type of reflection; whenever he sees a plane (won't make him go back to Whitespace but it's really close sometimes); (people needing to go to the) hospitals (no matter if it's bc they're sick or badly hurt) & probably other things but they don't come to mind sorry

Mikey's 'Something' is just.. everyone. They're all horrifying in a different way, but each person Mikey has failed haunts him (emphasis on Izana & Senju during Bonten)

The Somethings telling him 'I love you' in Blackspace 🥹

Important flowers would be black lilies (curse), and red and white spider lilies at the very end :) (Red spider lilies symbolizing the inability to meet again, farewell, death, loss, abandonment and White spider lilies symbolizing rebirth, meeting (anew), purity)

Also poppies since in Hanakotoba they can symbolize fun-loving and success, and in the more Western flower language they symbolize peaceful sleep and death, remembrance/remembering the fallen and renewal/resurrection among other things

(not a flower professional - just did some google researches so be careful with what I'm saying)

Whitespace:

Old blanket

NES (that he irl has in his bedroom and must hold a lot of memories of family/friends game night)

Mewo being replaced by Peke-j? But Mikey is not close to Peke-j(/not that close from Chifuyu (unlike other ppl)) from what we know. Peke-j could also be used as a way to show how guilty Manjiro is about Baji (and Chifuyu? Kazutora?)

moto figurines laying around? Little flags?

Probably wouldn't have a laptop

The journal+drawings stay tho. He deserves to vent

Deserves to keep the tissue box and cry, too

Blackspace:

Mikey goes in and out of it; he never chooses if he pops up in Whitespace, Dreamworld or Blackspace. It depends on how is his mind irl. There are also some places where he can directly enter it (ex: whenever the Concorde is broken)

Haruchiyo keeps dying. Or having his lower jaw removed out of nowhere (also happens in headspace -> leads Mikey to go back to Whitespace on the spot)

If we do put Peke-j in this AU as Mewo replacement, which choice do you think Mikey would make in the Cat dissection room with our dear mister the Cat Butler? /genuine

The three first timeline are very similar. Senju and Haruchiyo/Sanzu have a lesser role here. In the 3rd/Bad Toman, Kazutora is here and is hurt less by Mikey (whereas if he ever is present in the two firsts, Mikey won't be merciful)

Manila:

"You loved them and you killed them. You should just die." — hits more in this timeline than any other

Rather than Manjiro completely loosing against Mikey; there's a feeling of acceptance at the end of their fight from both parts. They can't go back, but they can't go further either.

Plus, Manjiro never fought for a will to live to start with

Actually I'm not sure if there'd be a fight to start with

Izana, S62 & Kakucho are not present in the headspace of this timeline

Bonten:

there's an entire space dedicated to Senju and Izana. It's filled with always-falling snow and everlasting sakura; the party can make snowmen and other snow constructions! There's a pond with a giant majestic beta fish somewhere, too (maybe it could interact with Taiyaki-kun, maybe not)

Edit: They live in a snow castle

those two are either safe in this place (*cough* until the snow and sakura start to get tainted by blood out of nowhere and they disappear and the flowers wilt *cough* The snow melts a bit under the warmth of blood and suddenly it's less a childhood joy and more just... Hellishly cold. bc the cold refuses to leave ofc *cough*) or with Shinichiro and Emma on the picnic blanket. Kakucho is always found around Izana so he can be found in the snow, too! (He's the one staying there when Izana & Senju disappear; he's panicking and extremely worried)

*cough* canonical Oyasumi ending *cough*

Timeline where the Somethings are the most troublesome and present

eat irl then go puke in the toilet

sleeps less and sleeps badly

Kanto Manji & Final timeline:

Still developing, mostly Whitespace

Mikey and Manjiro are not two different entities yet - Manjiro is not at that point where he suppresses all of his traumas when he's in the Dreamworld as Mikey

not a great emphasis on Senju since she doesn't die, but she's still there, having a lesser role

Draken, on the other hand- (it doesn't last long anyway since he travels back in time no long after)(I mean. it's still three months so maybe it's a bit long)

The "I have to tell you something"-timeline/ending, if there has to be one

[mrsdesade]

I love Ophera! Tell us more about her, please 🙏

Sure of course, your giving so much love to my girl! 💖 I'm always happy to talk about her and giving you more OCs content! Instead of a simple info dump I got the occasion of this question to recreate a live TV interview with her!

------

Ophera interview;

Pairing: no one, just Ophera stuff (mentioning of her relationship with Homelander and some other characters) TW: nope Timeline: late season 1 Words count: 1,6k

“Welcome back to The Daily Show. I'm Cameron Coleman. And tonight, we have a very special guest. She's one of the most powerful, most enigmatic figures in the whole Vought. She's a superhero, a musician, and a global icon. Please join me in welcoming the incredible Ophera!”

The studio audience erupted in applause as a stunning woman with obsidian black hair and piercing red eyes stepped onto the stage. Ophera, the third member of The Seven.

Cameron's voice, smooth and polished, echoed through the studio, introducing Ophera to the world once more. But this was no ordinary interview. Behind the dazzling facade of the superhero, there was a woman haunted by secrets. As the cameras rolled, a different story was about to unfold. A story that would delve deeper than the carefully crafted public image.

“It’s an honor to have you here. You’ve become a symbol of hope for millions.''

"I just try to do my part."

"And do it you do, spectacularly. The world needs heroes like you, Ophera. But let's peel back the layers a little. Behind the invincible superhero, there's a woman. A woman who's faced unimaginable challenges. Today we are here to ask you some questions, your audience wants to know more and more!"

''Whenever you want, shoot, I'm ready.''

''Let me ask you first, something related to your musical career.''

Where do you draw your inspiration for your music? Is there a particular artist or genre that has influenced you?

"Inspiration is everywhere. A city at night, a broken heart, the taste of iron - it’s all fuel for my music. I've always been drawn to the raw energy of rock, but I'm not afraid to experiment. Oh, I deeply admire Michael Jackson's works and carreer.''

Do you have any pre-show rituals or superstitions?

"Superstitions? That's for amateurs. I prefer a good warm-up and a shot of espresso. If that counts as a ritual, then I'm guilty as charged."

What are your favorite things to do when you're not saving the world or performing on stage?

"When I’m not fighting crimes or performing a stage, you can find me on my motorcycle, lost in thought. Or perhaps in a dimly lit bar, enjoying a drink with my friends. Hey Lara! She wanted to be greeted on live TV!''

What's the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you on stage?

"Let's just say that once, during a live concert, my metal manipulation went a bit... rogue. Imagine a guitar flying into the audience. It was a show, alright."

''Working for Vought must be such an experience, right?''

How do you view your relationships with some other members of The Seven?

"The Seven…It's a peculiar little family, isn't it? Maeve, a warrior, a seasoned pro. We have a mutual respect, born from years of shared experiences. Starlight, well, she's a breath of fresh air. Her idealism is infectious, even if she can be a bit naive sometimes. Also there's The Deep… let's just say he's a fish out of water. But hey, who am I to judge? We're all just playing our part in this grand spectacle, aren't we?"

What’s the most challenging mission you’ve faced as a member of The Seven?

"Every day is a challenge. From rescuing kittens from trees to stopping world domination, it's a rollercoaster. But if I had to pick one, let's just say it involved a really, really high skyscraper at deep night. Alone. Without flying assistance."

How do you balance the demands of being a superhero with the pressures of maintaining a public image?

"It's a delicate dance, that's for sure. You have to be able to switch gears in a heartbeat. One moment you're saving the world, the next you're on a red carpet. It’s like being an actor, except with superpowers and way less wardrobe malfunctions."

There have been rumors about the darker side of The Seven. What do you think about the growing anti-superhero sentiment?

"Rumors are like shadows, Cameron. They linger in the dark, feeding off fear and ignorance. The Seven are a symbol. Some people prefer to focus on the shadows rather than the light. It's a choice they make."

What is the most challenging aspect of controlling such immense power?

"The most challenging aspect? Resisting the urge to use it on people who deserve it. Power is a double-edged sword, Cameron. It can be used to create or destroy. The trick is knowing which is which."

How do you feel about the limitations of your powers, if any?

"Limitations? No no, I prefer to think of them as challenges. They keep things interesting. Besides, who wants to be invincible? Where's the fun in that?"

Do you believe that the ends justify the means, or do you adhere to a strict moral code?

"Morality is subjective. What's right for one person might be wrong for another. I believe in consequences, however. Every action has a ripple effect."

''Let's get straight to the point, your relationship with Homelander.''

Can you tell us more about how you and Homelander first met? It seems like a match made in heaven.

"A match made in hell maybe! Well, my beloved Homelander. A force of nature. We collided, quite literally, during a mission. It was chaos, destruction, and an undeniable spark. Classic superhero love story, don't you think?"

How does it feel to be considered one of the most powerful couples in the world?

"It's a curious thing, fame. It magnifies everything, including the mundane. Homelander and I are partners, in life and in work. The world sees us as a power couple, but our relationship is far more complex than that."

Girls wants to know. What's the most romantic thing Homelander has ever done for you?

"Homelander? Romantic? That's a new one. Let's just say he knows how to create a good quality moment after dinner."

Fans often look up to your relationship. What advice would you give to couples who aspire to have a love like yours?

"Communication, trust, honestly, and a really good therapist. Just kidding about the last one. Kind of. Or simply: don't date superheroes. It’s messy."

''Your family, quite a delicate topic.''

Could you tell us a bit about your brother, Illuminatio? What was he like?

"He was my rock, my partner in crime. We were inseparable. He had this infectious laugh that could brighten anyone's day. Such a showman...I honestly miss him everyday."

How do you keep Illuminatio's memory alive? Is there anything you do to honor him?

"I try to live a life that would make him proud. And I talk about him all the time. He loved being in the spotlight, he always looked for his place in the world of entertainment. I will do my best to never let his legacy disappear.''

What kind of legacy do you hope to leave behind? Is it more important to be remembered as a hero or as a person?

"A legacy, huh? I'd rather be remembered as a catalyst for change. Someone who challenged the status quo, pushed boundaries, and inspired others to be their best selves. Hero? Person? Why choose? I am both. And I'm proud of it. But if I had to pick, I'd say it's more important to be remembered as a person. Because heroes come and go, but people are forever."

''People wants to know something more about your private life!''

You've been in the public eye for years. How do you manage to maintain a sense of privacy in such a demanding role?

"It's all about finding those quiet moments. A good movie, a glass of wine, and maybe a locked door. Sometimes, even superheroes need a little 'me time'."

Your style is always on point. Who are your fashion inspirations?

"Anyone who's not afraid to take a risk. A bit of edge, much glamour, and a good sparkling dress. Even If sometimes you've to sacrifice your comfort. Except for shoes, oh love, you can't save the world in uncomfortable shoes."

Aside from your superpowers and musical abilities, are there any other hidden talents you possess?

"I'm told I have a talent for driving people absolutely insane! Is that the kind of talent you had in mind?"

Last question! Are you truly happy with your life?

"Happy? Well, It's a complex emotion. I'm content, fulfilled, and occasionally amused. But happiness is a fleeting thing, isn't it? Like a shooting star. Better to focus on making the most of every moment."

The studio audience is on its feet, applauding. Ophera sits on the couch, a relaxed posture contrasting sharply with the intensity of some of the questions. A little smile playing on her red lips. Cameron, visibly impressed, stands up and walks over to Ophera. He extends a hand for a firm handshake.

“There you have it, folks. A glimpse into the life of Ophera. From her humble beginnings to her status as a superhero, she's truly an inspiration. But as she's shown us tonight, even superheroes have their vulnerabilities and their doubts. Ophera, thank you so much for joining us. It's been a pleasure!”

''Thanks to you Cameron for having me, it was fun, let's do it again sometimes! And thanks to all of you who support us every day, you guys, are the real heroes.''

Ophera returns the handshake, her grip strong and confident. The audience erupts in another round of applause. She stands up, her tall figure commanding attention. She walks to the edge of the stage, taking a deep breath. With a wink at the camera, she blows a kiss to the audience. The lights dim as she steps off the stage, leaving the audience buzzing with excitement.

-----------

Thanks again for the request, honestly one of my favourites to write, hope you enjoyed! Kisses <3

[buckybarnesss]

I get not liking Allison. She did some shitty things, truly. But the way people hate her but then champion around Theo is truly wild.

Allison did bad things. She is susceptible to manipulation (something she shares with Derek, which is incredibly common in abuse survivors!!). But she never really gets gleeful about killing and torture the way Kate, Theo, Peter, and Deucalion get.

Theo, Duecalion and Peter are all outright villains. They are also victims. They have their origin stories.

Kate is also a victim of Gerard's abuse and manipulations but she is very much a villain. She revels in her violence, manipulative games and her abuse of others. It makes her feel powerful and in control which she likely never did with Gerard.

Jennifer is also a victim and one can definitely understand why she becomes consumed with revenge against the alpha pack but she is still a villain.

One can be sympathetic and empathize with these characters while still recognizing their villainy.

Even Jackson receives a lot of sympathy in the narrative and nothing Jackson does is on par with the main villains. He's a petty, insecure high school jock and bullies Stiles and Scott repeatedly. It's also heavily implied his family ignored the abuse Isaac was suffering just across the street. Point is, he was used against his will to murder people and the narrative makes it clear he is horrified at that. Despite being an asshole he willingly allows Derek (and Peter) to kill him than continue to be a puppet.

Fandom has written essays upon essays about why a particular character is justified actually but the amount of times I've seen very little grace and empathy given to Allison could fill a sock full of quarters for which I could beat sense into them with.

Allison suffered abuse from her family. Her interests were devalued and she felt the need to hide them (her artwork and photography). These things were clearly devalued over her archery and gymnastics by Chris and Victoria because unbeknownst to Allison she was being trained to eventually become a hunter.

She has been lied to her entire life about her family's true nature and all through season 1 her parents gaslight her.

Her father terrorizes and tries to kill her boyfriend solely because he's a werewolf. Scott did nothing wrong besides fall in love with her. Her father threatened Jackson and Stiles. Has threatened Derek. Threatened Lydia because she didn't turn when bit.

Chris had her fucking kidnapped as part of her "training". Allison was legitimately terrified.

Her mother commits suicide because the Code says so. Her mother rather die and leave Allison motherless at 17 than be a werewolf. By and large we see very little evidence werewolves cannot have normal and fulfilling lives. In fact the biggest threats to them are people like the Argents.

Kate wants to groom Allison into being like her. Her introduction to the supernatural is Kate torturing Derek. Allison had met Derek. He'd been nice to her. Kate tries to coerce Allison in joining into her depravity.

Allison learns that Kate killed an entire family. Not just the adults but children too. They burned alive. Kate was like a sister to her and her closest family member that she was excited to see and trusted. The betrayal of that. And than Kate is killed in front of her.

Despite good intentions Scott keeps the truth about her mother from her until after she's already falling victim to Gerard's manipulations and lies.

Allison's entire season 3 arc is knowing she fucked up. Her actions dominoes into Erica's death. It's no accident she discovers Erica's body and is there to see Derek's grief. She feels enormously guilty about it and spends all of s3 trying to atone. She's haunted repeatedly by her mother and Kate.

Allison was 17 years old and in the end she died trying to save her friends. She wasn't a bad person. She made bad choices based on lies, manipulations and not being told the full truth.

But there's a large segment of fandom that just writes her off and in the same breath defends Peter, Theo and Duecalion. Allison is a lot like Derek and Derek is one of the most popular characters but in the same turn Allison and Derek receive a lot of the same kind of criticism.

They aren't perfect abuse victims and make questionable decisions sometimes which makes people upsetti-spaghetti.

I think that dismissing Allison as some stupid little girl -- which is what so many of these arguments boil down to -- just devalues her character arc, what she meant to the other characters and the place she has in the story.

She's so much more than Scott's Lost Lenore or Chris's dead daughter. Allison Argent fought so hard to have agency in her own life.

[riddledeep]

WESTLEY AND TALON: IN SHORT

Brief bios about Jorgen's ward and Anti-Cosmo's original heir

WESTLEY TELFORD PERIWINKLE

Westley is an OC meant to be both the model advertising fancy candles in "The Big Fairy Share Scare" and the fairy baby Jorgen holds during his slideshow presentation in "Fairly Odd Baby"

Occupation: Professional teen model; child actor

Birthday: 2nd Thursday of September, Summer of the Slippery Cougar (Breath)

Height: 3′6″ (Average for a fae)

Age During Frozen Timestream: 89,999 (Mentally around 12)

Age As of Devil’s Backbone: 253,259 (Mentally 22)

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

MBTI: ISTJ

Love Language: Physical touch

Handedness: Left dominant

Hometown: Faeheim - Fairy World’s capital city, located near the Big Wand

Core: Broken ram's horn

Core Color: Blue (Layer 1 Blue; Layer 2 Purple)

Crown Lift: High

Wand Type: Ipewood

Fagiggly Color: Lavender

Preferred Shapeshifting Form: Fox

Bio: Westley was the *original* first fairy baby born thousands of years after the fairy baby ban, and is the reason Poof isn't called "the youngest fairy since Cosmo" or "the youngest in hundreds of thousands of years."

Westley was taken in by Jorgen and Binky, who prevented his biological parents from visiting him more than once every other millennium... the same fate that would have befallen Poof if Cosmo and Wanda hadn’t been so quick on the draw. He still blames his parents for not forming a connection with him in his youth and nowadays wants nothing to do with them whatsoever, even taking a new surname - Periwinkle - as a way of cutting ties. They didn't even fight for him? They must be the worst.

Like Poof, Westley has been treated like a celebrity his whole life simply for being the only young member of his subspecies during a time fairy children were banned. His popularity gave him a leg up in school. He's considered a child star in Fairywood.

Westley considers Blonda a mother figure, though neither of them would openly admit that. She taught him how to dye his hair and has guided him through much of his life. He still has Binky's rebellious spirit alongside Jorgen's high emotions and obsession with rules, but beneath his snappy exterior (and disdain for a never-ending string of charity events), Westley is an insecure kid raised by a pair who treated him more like a novelty than a family member. He's searching for the peace and closure to questions about his past and parents that haunt him every day.

Like Cosmo and many others in the common fairy subspecies born around Cosmo's time, Westley has a mutation that renders him unable to use magic unless he drinks nursing milk. Cosmo took the route of carrying milk in a bottle-shaped thermos while Westley took the route of living with limited magic.

Despite Westley's haughty, bitter persona, Poof has met him a few times and idolizes him as a big brother figure- He even convinced Foop to name their egg baby after him. Westley may be tense about sharing his spotlight with the new "first fairy baby" on the block, but he has nothing but nice things to say about his little cousin.

In City Lights AU, Poof even changed his name to Periwinkle because of Westley... but that's a whole story in itself.

Many rumors speculate that Blonda is in fact Westley's mom, seeing as Westley has the same cherry almond scent to his pheromones. Blonda always laughs this off - as she does with every celebrity child she's accused of being secretly related to - but who knows what she's hiding?

He made his first onscreen appearance during flashbacks in Prompt 70 - "Repeat" and appeared in modern times during Prompt 125 - "I Just Live Here" when he and Blonda arrived at the Fairywinkle household; Poof slept in Westley's room over spring break.

He's been namedropped in other stories like "Told You So." Additional appearances include "Nonbeliever," Frayed Knots, and Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Pixies.

Related:

Blonda's Bio || Jorgen and Binky's Bios || Cosmo and Wanda's Bios || Family Tree: Von Strangles & Fairywinkles || Poof's Bio

ANTI-WESTLEY TELFORD "TALON" ANTI-LUNIFLY

Talon is an OC meant to be the anti-fairy baby implied to have been raised by Anti-Cosmo and H.P. during Jorgen's slideshow presentation in "Fairly Odd Baby"

Occupation: Temple acolyte, part-time student; former heir to the High Count seat

Birthday: February 13th, Winter of the Slippery Cougar (Breath)

Height: 3′4″ (Average for a fae)

Age During Frozen Timestream: 89,999 (Mentally around 12)

Age As of Devil’s Backbone: 253,259 (Mentally 22)

Alignment: Chaotic Evil

MBTI: INTJ

Love Language: Quality time

Handedness: Right dominant

Hometown: Luna’s Landing - Anti-Fairy World’s capital city, located in a crater and lit by glowing crystals.

Secondary Hometown: Inkblot City - Pixie World’s bustling capital city; contains the buildings seen in show canon

Core: Broken ram's horn

Core Color: Blue (Layer 1 Yellow; Layer 2 Purple)

Crown Lift: Average

Wand Type: Clay

Fagiggly Color: Denim blue

Preferred Shapeshifting Form: Hound

Bio: While his counterpart was raised by Jorgen and Binky, Talon was raised by Anti-Cosmo and H.P.... which went exactly as well as you'd expect. Both have their claws sunk into him and neither is willing to relinquish ties.

Talon compromises as best as he can with their wants in an attempt to keep Anti-Fairy/Pixie relations stable. He spends most of his time in Pixie World, ringing the bells in the Water Temple and bullying pixie children. Anti-Cosmo makes a special effort to visit him (and usually insists that H.P. keep away when he does because the three don’t make a good team).

Talon is loud, full of ideas, and always getting into trouble. He isn't high energy, but he's sly, snooty, and doesn't take being pushed around. He doesn’t like being touched, especially hugged, and especially not picked up. He got his name because of his tendency to scratch anyone who came near him as a child. Talon is a total braggart and never hesitates to fetch one of his “dads” if he thinks he can get someone in trouble; he has no shame about rubbing their status in your face.

Beyond that, he's a long-distance student of the Anti-Fairy Academy, where education consists mostly of personal research and presentations. He was raised alongside H.P.'s daughter, Commelina, and is a friend to Gary and Betty. He and Gary work on bikes together in their spare time.

He's also a hypochondriac, which is odd for an Anti-Fairy, yet here we are.

Talon has appeared in several stories, ranging from Pink and Gray (where he attends Camp Wannahurtastranger with Gary and Betty) to "Health Bars" (where he attends a funeral alongside his dads) and "No Absolutes" (where he fell asleep at the counter while working on homework, leaving Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda to put him to bed).

He briefly appears in Origin of the Pixies and is a notable character in the latter half of Frayed Knots: a story which revolves around Anti-Cosmo's quest to have a child, and Talon is the result of his shady experiments.

He also exists in Reedfilter Rules AU as Anti-Cosmo's illegitimate son, who is raised by Thirty-Seven (H.P.) in Pixie World. Wherever you go in the Riddleverse, Talon Anti-Lunifly will be there...

Related:

Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda's Bios || H.P.'s Bio || Family Tree || Blue Castle Layout || Anti-Fairy Class Overview || Foop's Bio || Anti-Saffron and Commelina's Bios || Eurydice and Nova's Bios

[non-neutoniangender]

Well the train is started and so I guess I'm watching episode 35.

McAdverbot .... Sam this one is good, but you can't rap lol

Top table has a new member..... :/ I'm not sure putting Fearne next to Chetney was a good idea...

Oh I hadn't realized that they lost their note-taker

10k gold 👀 Thats a lot.

I gotta say, I love portable holes as a extraplanar storage option, because they require organizing, like you can just chuck shit into a bag of holding with very little care but with a hole, its just a easy to carry, very large box.

(Also its really funny how the starting storage options are worse in each subsequent campaign, bag of holding -> haversack -> portable hole)

Treshi got involved in stuff he didn't quite fully understand huh... Interesting that he is in some ways happy to be pulled out of it.

MOLD STORAGE!!!!

I love the question of "Is Laudna undead"

"I'm tired of leaving people behind" ....I should've finished EXU

Its really interesting that they players have to ask "is this above board or does your character know this" with regards to Delilah. The whole situation is very interesting

The whole "take notes about the briarwoods" is a really funny bit. I really like how big this world has gotten that character knowledge is much bigger than player knowledge in ways that doesn't happen in a typical campaign.

Sam....... the flask...... its way too on point, but its also such an odd callback to c2.

"at this point we're friends" found family my beloved!

I need to be normal about Matt playing his wife's character.....

I'm not being normal about Matt playing The voice of the Tempest

aaaaaaaaaaaaa voice actors are good at their jobs

"That is the best use of wood I've ever heard of" Chetney 🤣 I love how much everyone is essentially fangirling over keyleth, to be fair, she is a very cool level 20 character....

Oh this was back in the ✨Enhance✨ era of the internet

"Wow that was a big waste" "Ok Jester" What a great comeback. (you poopin?)

"Sweet little metal boy" good LORDY

Poor Ashton with character development. They're going soft. He's not happy about it

SAM MADE A SPELL!??!?!?!?!?! Share Dream?!? thats so fucking cool

Also I love the casts reactions to that.

Chetney just accidentally yelling

Since Travis loves a good d6, he should play a wizard!

Finally googled the meaning of Pyrrhic.... a good title choice.

I really appreciate that Matt is continually correcting people on Xandis' pronouns, I don't appreciate the cast continually forgetting.

.....oh my god. Will is gone because the resurrection didn't work....

Thats so much worse, I hadn't thought about that....

God I had almost forgot there was a city on the moon. Moon's haunted

I really love the idea of ashton, I love how dunamancy is now a central part of the world

Anyway, these mind sequences are very cool, I love them.

How does Matt even come up with, or plan these things?!?? I can't even imagine

"There is strength, but there is pain. There is pain but there is strength" good God!! Matt, that is so cool.

Oh my god Ashton..... poor kid.

I... I love this story though. Ashton. And the chronic pain is..... wow

It's really interesting to watch them try to figure out dunamancy from zero knowledge and just random stuff.

Perhaps not definitely, but I bet Matt's description of the inside of Ashton's head with stars and possibilities would've been different if the person had seen inside a beacon before.

"Do any of us know who we are?" asking the right questions

Delilah is dying with Laudna........ good God.

Man these players created some fucked up characters.

The moment of realization that the wisdom save was against Keyleth's scry lmao.

Keyleth!!!!!! I love her!!!

I love how she's like, buckle up fuckers, you're coming with me on a trip to whitestone.

Anyway, that episode was amazing and the ending was perfect, I cannot wait to find time to watch the next one!!!!!

[clovesnz]

Story that turned out longer than intended about my angst regarding early experiences with the kink. Kinda feel a little uncomfy writing about me as a kid cause like this is a sex blog but also I feel like this kinda thing is so universal and sometimes my brain feels like it’s gonna explode just carrying all of it because wtf

Oh my god I had this friend as a kid and we did so much stuff together that was so incredibly related to this kink and it kills me that it was probably only me feeling a type of way about it. Because from my memory it was mutual, like we both came up with these things, but in retrospect I know it’s just unlikely. But we had a game called “the sneezing game” where one of us was shopkeeper of a very dusty shop and the other would be customers, and you would just pretend to be different people with different reactions to the dust. It was…a lot. Like very in line with the tropes within the community in terms of the scenarios we came up with. And we played it a lot. We even had a variation we played in their hot tub where it was a natural hot springs surrounded by dusty dirt that made people sneeze?? And then a few years later in middle school this friend actually developed a dust allergy and like described to me in great detail how they were staying in a friend’s RV and just kept sneezing. I think at that point I had figured things out more and the whole time I was like oh god why would you tell me this.

But then the other thing is that, as a child I had INSANE germaphobia. I would yell at someone if they were sick around me. I didn’t want to be around my friends if even their family members were sick. I would cry, freak out, it was a lot. But this friend (same one), I just really liked them. I don’t know how to describe this friendship but it was different than any other I’d had (I’ve wondered since then if it was non-platonic on my end but I also think maybe I saw them as a protective figure because they were two years older than me). And when they got sick, they would just straight up tease me for being scared of them. In like a “don’t be a pussy just come hang out with me” kinda way. And somehow that made it easier to put away my fear. It almost felt liberating, because they were just so not careful. Coughing uncovered, blowing their nose into their bare hand. Everything I would normally hate. I remember distinctly the first time I caught a cold from them, and I was exited. Not an emotion I’d ever felt about having a cold. But I just wanted to share everything with them. It felt like we were both in on something, and we spent all this time together just being sick and I didn’t have to worry about getting sick or getting them sick cause we both already were. And at the time I got the impression that they felt the same way about it. But it was so long ago that I can’t really remember where I got that impression from.

I probably wouldn’t think about this as much, except that I still actually run into them sometimes because we are still practically neighbors and have mutual friends. I mean there is a lot of other baggage on my end with this person like the part where I was possibly in love with them but the sneeze stuff especially just kinda like…haunts me lol. Like every time I see them. I’m like that is the same person oh god.

I guess if they were a fellow snzfucker they might be on snzblr and could see this, so like…I guess if this sounds like you hmu lmaooo (yes I know the chances of this are nearly impossible but I can dream)

[stargazer-sims]

Journal Entry #59

Journal Entry #58 // STORY INDEX

Victor

We’ve been having an amazing summer.

Yeah, I know we’ve been neglecting our journal again, but in a way I feel like maybe we’re outgrowing it. We’ve been chronicling our life this way for over a year, and so much has changed for us in that time. So much has changed about us as well. We’re not the same people we were a year ago, and that’s a good thing.

I started this journal for fun because I wanted to do some travelling that wasn’t connected to a snowboarding competition, and I thought it'd be cool to document my adventures. I did get to go to Sulani, but in hindsight, now I see how unrealistic it was to think I’d be jetting frivolously all around the globe.

But, starting the journal wasn’t a wasted effort by any means. Looking back on it, it’s a reminder of how far Yuri and I have come, what we’ve learned and how we’ve grown as individuals and as a couple. I love us, and I'm proud of the progress we’ve made together.

It’s been interesting to share a part of our story with everyone, but I feel like we’re moving into a different stage of our life now. I don't know if we'll keep recording our journey like this in the future. We'll see.

Anyway, we're still doing it for now, so let me pick up where I left off back in June.

After Mom and Julian's wedding, Yuri and I had a few days together before he and his family returned to Japan. I had a great time showing them around, and I think Mr. and Mrs. Okamoto fell in love with Willow Creek a little bit, because they said they wanted to come back for a longer visit in the near future. Yuki's favourite thing was actually the amusement park in nearby Newcrest, and her parents really seemed to enjoy the scenic walking trails and the farmers market.

Before they left, Mr. Okamoto asked me if I'd like to stay with them when I returned to Mt. Komorebi instead of moving back into Uncle Kaz's house for what might end up being only a couple of months. My knee-jerk reaction was to say no, but I'm glad I managed to keep that to myself. The offer did make a lot of sense, after all. If Yuri and I both stayed with his parents, we wouldn't have to pay rent on top of our mortgage payment for the haunted house, and we could pack up the rest of our stuff so we'd be ready to leave whenever we reasonably could. I just didn't know how I'd feel, being in such close proximity to my in-laws for an extended period of time.

I told Mr. Okamoto I'd think about it and get back to him, and he seemed satisfied with that.

Grandpa Michael also hung around in Willow Creek for a while after the wedding. I said he could stay with me, but he declined, claiming the house would be too crowded with all Yuri's family members staying there too. I found that a little odd at first, until I discovered that he somehow managed to hook up with someone at the wedding and got invited to stay in her guest room for a few nights.

"She's a younger woman, and she’s hot," he told me confidentially. "Her name's Juliet. How about that?"

"Uh... how much younger are we talking?" I asked.

"She's sixty-six."

"Don't you think you're moving kinda fast? Like, sleeping over at her place after you literally just met her?"

"Listen," Grandpa Michael said. "At my age, you gotta move fast so you don't miss the good opportunities."

He's seventy-three. If he was in a contest for old people who move fast, he'd probably win a medal.

Still, he deserves to find happiness and have fun. It’s been seven years since my grandma passed away, and I’m pretty sure he’ll never stop loving her, but seven years is a long time to be alone if you’re used to being with somebody. If he feels like he's ready to get back into the dating scene, who am I to tell him not to?

When I met the aforementioned Juliet a couple days later, I totally understood the attraction. Although ‘hot’ wasn’t exactly the first word that sprang to mind, I could definitely see why Grandpa Michael would think so. She was elegant and confidently attractive in the way women are when they embrace aging with grace instead of engaging in a useless battle with it. I could easily imagine her being a knockout in her younger days. When she was my age, I bet she turned every head in every room she stepped into.

Beyond my initial impression of Juliet Picard, I was startled to realize I recognized her. She was the woman who'd been in charge of all the flowers for the wedding. Turns out she owns a florist shop called Hearts and Flowers, which happens to be down the street from Mom and Julian's clinic. Coincidentally, the flower shop also occupies the same building as the flat where Davian St-Jean, a friend of mine from high school, lives.

I used to say Willow Creek was the most boring place on Earth, that nothing ever happens there, but that's when I was viewing it through the eyes of a guy who thought events didn't have much meaning unless they were big and exciting and important to everyone. I was wrong about that. Sometimes the most seemingly insignificant thing carries the most weight.

A lot happens in Willow Creek. It's a town of connections, of opportunities small and large, the sort of place where a chance interaction could change the course of somebody's life in ways they might never have been able to imagine.

I mean, I was in Willow Creek when I met Yuri. Sitting alone in my sparsely -furnished unit at the Sage Estates apartment complex, scrolling through a forum for snowboarding enthusiasts, I had no idea I was going to see a photo of this impossibly cute Japanese boy doing a silly pose with his board. My impulsivity made me message him, and his curiosity made him message back. Prior to that day, if anyone had suggested I would meet my soulmate through a random encounter on the internet, I think I would've laughed out loud.

But now? Don't tell me stuff doesn't happen in Willow Creek. Dreams are born there, and nobody will ever convince me to change my mind about that again.

The day after Yuri and his family headed home, Grandpa Michael and I departed for Brindleton Bay. He returned his rented car, and then Juliet met us for breakfast and dropped us off at the bus station afterwards.

"I'll be back," he told her as we were about to board the bus, and I swear it was totally dramatic, like something out of a movie. He was dead serious, though, so I had to do my best not to laugh.

"I'll be looking forward to it," she said.

I reached into my bag and pulled out the keys to the house. "Here," I said, handing them to my grandpa. "Consider my place your place until Yuri and I come back. Feel free to use it any time."

He grinned at me, and for a split second I could've sworn I saw the face of a man half his age. "Thanks. I'm sure I'll enjoy that heated swimming pool, and your fabulous kitchen. I'll make myself at home."

"Go for it," I said. "Just don't use the red mug, and don't sleep in the basement bedroom."

Juliet raised an eyebrow. "What an odd thing to say."

"It's only odd if you don't know about the ghost," I told her.

"The ghost?"

"Victor's house is haunted," Grandpa Michael said cheerfully. "Cool, don't you think?"

"Really?" Juilet looked intrigued. "Well, I can't wait to see that."

"Victor, I presume I'm allowed to have houseguests?"

"Go for it," I said. "Far be it from me to cramp your style."

He winked at Juliet. "Heated swimming pool."

"Oh, lord..." she responded, but she was laughing. "I think I'll have to keep him, Victor. I wouldn't want to unleash him on anyone else."

"Consider me kept." Grandpa Michael put the keys into his own bag, and then gave me a thumbs up. "Just let me know when you're coming back. I'll make sure I'm there, so you can get in."

"Don't worry," I said. "Mom has the other set of keys. We'll be able to get in. I'll let her know you'll be coming and going, though. We don't want her to think somebody's trying to break into the place."

"Imagine explaining that to the police," he said, and the look on his face implied he'd very much enjoy stirring up a little trouble like that.

Mom says I'm just like Grandpa Michael. She's probably not wrong. Aside from sharing an almost obsessive passion for snow sports and being international competitors — he was a world champion slalom skiier back in the day — we have the same love for food, the same enjoyment of being with other people, the same sense of humour and, I think it's safe to say, the same impulse control issues.

I love him. I mean, I love my other grandparents too, but I think I have a deeper bond with Grandpa Michael than with the others. We get each other on a fundamental level.

We had a blast during the week I spent in Brindleton Bay with him. We passed a lot of our time at the local fitness center, and every morning we had tea and breakfast with his friends at a café in town. His friends are awesome, for the record. After the first day, I kind of forgot I was hanging out with guys in their seventies. One afternoon, we all played golf together, and on another day we went deep-sea fishing with one of the friends who owns a boat.

When we weren't socializing, we managed to get loads of yard work done, and we did plenty of cooking. Oh man... the cooking. It was so nice not to have to worry about ingredients and portion sizes and making sure everything had the right balance of protein and carbs. We cooked whatever we felt like having, and trust me, we had a lot of it. I'm pretty sure I've never eaten so much in a week in my entire life. With my belly full, I slept like a dead man every night, and it was absolutely satisfying.

On the evening before my flight back to Japan, Grandpa Michael and I were sitting on his back doorstep, drinking some fruit juice and staring out at the ocean. If I thought sunsets over the lake in Granite Falls were beautiful, let me tell you they've got nothing on sunsets over the ocean. The last time I'd seen anything like that, I'd been in Sulani, but somehow this was better. It wasn't that the sunset itself was any more gorgeous, but because I was seeing it with someone I care about and who I know cares about me.

"It's been a long time since I got to sit here and enjoy this with another person," my grandfather said, as if he were reading my thoughts.

"I'm glad I get to watch it with you."

"Me too," he said. "I hope you'll come back here more often, once you're all settled into your new home. Bring your husband too. He seems like a sweet little fellow."

I laughed at that, thinking about how Yuri would respond to being referred to as 'a sweet little fellow'. He'd probably love it, and I could picture him blushing.

"I will," I promised. "But I guess you'll be coming to Willow Creek more often now too, won’t you? So we'll have extra chances to see each other."

"Hmm..." Grandpa Michael leaned back in his chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him. "I never thought I'd find someone I wanted to be with after your grandmother. I didn't think I'd ever want to love anyone that way again, honestly, but I might have changed my mind."

"You think love at first sight is a thing?"

"No," he said. "You never want to say 'love' too quickly, but it's okay to think about it, and I've got a good feeling."

I smiled. "I'm really glad you met Juliet."

"So am I. She made me remember that being alive and living life aren't the same thing," he said. "You know, it's easy to give up on living when you feel like you've lost your reason to live. But, I think we forget that we've got more than one reason. There's more to live for than that one person or thing we lost."

I thought about Yuri. He'd been at his lowest point this past winter, and for a while I'd really been afraid that he'd given up on wanting to be alive, not just on living. Nothing I said or did seemed to matter, and it was scaring me more than anything else ever had. But then, just when I was wondering what would become of him, of us and the future we’d planned, his reminder to live came from the most unlikely source; his father.

If somebody asked me to guess who'd save Yuri in the end, I never would’ve predicted it’d be his dad. Their relationship was practically non-existent up until this year.

It’d taken some pretty horrible events to make them take the first tiny steps toward fixing their broken trust, but all the pain and suffering was worth it if Yuri and his dad learned how to communicate with each other. They’ve both found hope and renewed determination to make the most out of their time in the world, and I’m thankful.

Since March, their relationship has grown by leaps and bounds, and it's been truly amazing to observe. Yuri is happier than I've ever known him to be. He's looking forward, rather than being stuck in a bubble of self-pity and going nowhere. Even the smallest things seem to bring him joy now, and I can't even begin to describe how full my heart is over that.

I want this to last. I want him to be happy forever, and I don't even care if I'm not the catalyst. Seeing him happy makes me happy. The reason for it doesn't matter, as long as he's thriving.

Of course, I'm enough of a realist to get that it's not always going to be sunshine and strawberry milkshakes. Yuri's chronic illness will never go away, so it's inevitable that he'll have bad days or weeks. Plus, we're doubtless going to have to deal with difficult stuff that's completely unrelated to Yuri's health.

That having been said, I'm of the opinion that happiness is a state of being. Like, even if we're not constantly cheerful and we're navigating scary or unpleasant situations, we can still be happy. There's always something to be grateful for, always one more reason to keep on living, and that's what I want for Yuri. My wish for him is that he'll finally understand happiness is something he can choose for himself, and even if everything around him is dark and bitter, he can still find his own metaphorical sunshine and strawberry milkshakes on the inside.

When I shared that with Grandpa Michael, he told me he was proud of me and said I should be proud of myself too.

"You've grown up a lot since you've been away," he commented.

"Thanks. I've had a lot of people helping me."

"Other people can only get you so far. You have to want to do it."

"I don't know if I wanted to," I confessed. "Being an adult is hard. Part of me wishes I could just stay a kid forever, Know what I mean?"

"Believe it or not, I do," he said. "But you know what they say. You don't have to stop playing just because you're growing up."

With that in mind, I've made it my mission to get in as much playtime as possible this summer and to bring as many people along with me on my adventures as I can.

I made up my mind to stay with my in-laws when I got back to Mt. Komorebi, and I have no regrets. Yuri and I have been filling our days with all kinds of activities from long walks on the mountain trails, to visiting local museums and galleries, to picnic lunches by the lake near his parents' house. I returned in time for the Festival of Snow, and the whole family went to it together. We were out all day, and it was even more fun than last year.

A few weeks ago, Yuri and I took a weekend trip to Kyoto for shopping, sightseeing, and a classical music concert. Yuri convinced me to go back to the spa we went to on the day before we got married, and afterwards we bought dango from a street vendor and ate it in the little park where we had our wedding pictures taken.

We've been spending time with our friends as well, and it probably goes without saying that Sakura and I are training on the mountain as much as we’re reasonably able to. Last week, Yuri told me that he thought he was finally feeling strong enough to get back on his board, so I called Sakura and asked her if we could skip training for the day so I could take Yuri snowboarding. She sounded only too glad to oblige, and said she might come out to join us, if Yuri didn't mind. He said he didn't, so Sakura met us at the intermediate slope, and the three of us had one of the most wonderful mornings I've had in a long time.

Yuri was exhausted by the time we were done, but even more importantly, he was hungry. He practically begged me to take him to a local ramen house for his favourite meal of the moment, kake udon. That's a kind of mild noodle soup that can be served with different toppings like tofu, sliced fish or shrimp tempura. Yuri likes it with scallions and fish. He somehow talked me into buying him strawberry daifuku as well, and then he didn't even share them with me. Like... the nerve! When it became clear I wasn't going to get even a bite of one of his, I had to order my own. I pretended to protest, but I was secretly thrilled, if you really want to know.

Yuri's been doing so good with his eating that Dr. Kasongo thinks she might be able to remove his feeding tube by the end of the year. He officially finished the first phase of his nutrition rehabilitation therapy in mid-July, so that means no more food intelligence classes and no more weekly visits with the nutritionist and psychologist.

He's happy about not having to meet with the psychologist every single week, but he's nervous about not seeing the nutritionist as regularly. She's been like a safety net for him, I think. He had to be accountable to her, and now he's worried that he's not going to be able to do it without her encouraging, reminding, and occasionally scolding him about his food intake and eating choices. He's supposed to continue with his daily food diary, and at this point he's supposed to start planning his own weekly menu or at least contributing to the planning of a family menu. He has a short consultation with the nutritionist every two weeks, usually ten or fifteen minutes by video call, so he can go over his food diary and meal plans with her. It's nothing like his previous hour-long weekly in-person sessions, and he's stressed.

Everyone in the family is cheering him on, though. We all know he can do it.

His current goal is to go sixty consecutive days without a single tube feeding. That, and his general overall health, are the criteria for having the tube removed. He looked like he was about to panic when the doctor told him that, and on the way home from his appointment he cried while telling me he didn't think he was ready to go sixty days in a row.

"It's okay," I said. "If you're not ready yet, that's not a bad thing. Just do the best you can."

"But, I'll be delaying our move even more if I can't do this," he said.

"No, you won't. We've got the date for your first appointment with Dr. Kim now, don't forget. We can move any time between now and then, and if you still have your tube when we move, I'm sure Dr. Kim can take it out just as easily as Dr. Kasongo could."

As a matter of fact, he'd received the email from Dr. Kim, the gastroenterologist at Willow Creek Regional Hospital, just the day before we last saw Dr. Kasongo. Yuri's initial appointment with Dr. Kim is scheduled for the twenty-second of October. While I wanted to leave Japan before autumn, I had to acknowledge there really was no rush, and if we didn't get to Willow Creek until mid-October, that would still be fine.

When we got back to Yuri's parents' house, we told them all about how it'd gone with Dr. Kasongo. Mr. and Mrs. Okamoto agreed that it was okay if Yuri didn't think he was ready to commit to the sixty-day home stretch yet, but they also said they were confident in his ability.

Yuki, who had overheard part of the conversation, later offered the helpful suggestion of making a sticker chart. "So every day you go without formula, you get to put a sticker on it, and at the end, you get a big reward!"

I thought she meant the 'big reward' was having his tube taken out, but Yuki had something else in mind. She conspired with her mother to create the most fantastic sticker chart I've ever seen. They drew it on poster board, and blocked it with six rows of ten squares each. Every tenth square had 'reward' written on it, and the sixtieth square boldly proclaimed 'BIG REWARD!!!' in alternating yellow and pink letters, Yuri's favourite colours. They bought an assortment of stickers for him to use on it, including ones with pink ice cream, seashells, glittery rainbow stars, cute baby animals, and — to his obvious delight — sparkly musical instruments, including violins.

"Look at this, Yuri. We have a plan," his mother said, as she went about hanging the chart on the wall in the kitchen. "Whenever you're ready to start counting your sixty days, let me know, and I'll give you the stickers."

To my surprise, it was less than a week later when he told her he was ready to begin.

Today is the ninth of August. We're on day eight of the first ten days today, and the full sixty days will bring us up to the first of October. We’ll be sure to keep you informed about how it’s going, but so far, so good.

We're tentatively planning our move for the middle of September, and I'm cautiously optimistic. Everyone who's watching this, please wish us luck.

There are people who say luck isn't really a thing, and that we can only get ahead by persistence and hard work, but I think it's a combination of the two. Like, I think it's true that our own efforts and our determination to succeed is the real driving force, but who would ever say no to a serendipitous stroke of luck? Even the hardest worker needs a helping hand now and then, and I'm not too proud to accept a well-meant wish for good fortune and success.

[lambotel]

hey! i don't mean to sound rude but i have a few questions ❤️ so i know you have a lot of dolls but i just wanted to ask how did you start your collection and why? are your dolls haunted? where are they from? how much were they? and do you buy them yourself or are they gifts? not that i want you to tell me your whole life story i'm just curious and have asked others similar questions! ❤️

hi lol, its ok. and idk how to answer any of this but i will try. already struggling w the first one, dont know how or why. i have always been used to my dad gifting me and my sister cars because he would rather get me, her and my brother the same gifts and always went with what was more boy-ish for whatever reason. always made us match clothes and everything, everything was almost the same, so it's crazy how we eventually did grow up to have different interests etc. mine became colelcting antique dolls because one day my dad just boguht a really big beautiful porcelain doll home (when i say big, not extremely big, just bigger than the others) for me. and he wanted /me/ to have it. part of. me believes he did it randomly but out of love, while the lther part of me believes he was guilty and upset when he saw how jealous i was seeing everyone have dolls that can literally sing. he never wanted to make me feel singled out in things or different from others, even though i was, and even though he was terrible in some doings- this was kind, and special. like a way to see i didnt need a singing stupid doll when i can have a very old antique one WITH the letter of authenticity.

growing up i noticed similar looking dolls in the charity shops i went to, they were expensive but also not cheap. i used to get bulloed really bad in highschool and college (yes, in college too lol), i had no friends and spent most of my days with my mum because my dad always worked. me and my mum always went to charity shops because the clothes and house stuff was just way cheaper. i dont want to say they let me buy what i want out of pity, but i know they were always trying to get me back on my feet again - thats the thing with asian, immigrant parents. never being able to tell you words of affirmations, but always somehow showing it in their actions. my mum knew i would look at a doll or two here and then, she always picked it up without asking or saying anything. brushing its hairs and putting it on my shelf for me and organising my books too. my mum bought me all the books sitting on my bookshelf rn.

if you want to start your own collection, i think you should start looking in charity shops or antique stores. a lot of old people, or family members of old people, dump their stuff there all the time. i have many memorable items from charity shops that aren't just dolls. they're worth a look. and dont worry about not getting an authenticity certificate - if you are bothered, you can always describe your doll online, however some antique sites (?) will ask you to pay in order for you to get info from them. so be careful. you can always ask straight from the person youre buying, if you look on places like depop or etsy, but who knows they might be lying lmao. i personally wouldnt care too much about it. i just am informative on it because my first doll came with it, i was hyper fixated on it for ages.

i hope this answered everything. i might delete this later if i decide to feel like i have over-shared on this platform.

[rockislandadultreads]

Spooky Reading Recommendations!

Death Overdue by Allison Brook

Carrie Singleton is just about done with Clover Ridge, Connecticut, until she's offered a job as the head of programs at the spooky local library, complete with its own librarian ghost. Her first major program is presented by a retired homicide detective who claims he knows who murdered a much-loved part-time library aide who was bludgeoned to death fifteen years earlier. As he invites members of the audience to share stories about Laura, he suddenly keels over and dies. The medical examiner reveals he was poisoned and Carrie becomes determined to discover who murdered Laura and the detective. 

This is the first volume of "The Haunted Library Mysteries" series.

Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky

Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six long days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. 

Weyward by Emilia Hart

I am a Weyward, and wild inside.

2019: Under cover of darkness, Kate flees London for ramshackle Weyward Cottage, inherited from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate. But she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage, hidden ever since the witch-hunts of the 17th century.

1619: Altha is awaiting trial for the murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Altha’s mother taught her their magic, a kind not rooted in spell casting but in a deep knowledge of the natural world. But unusual women have always been deemed dangerous, and as the evidence for witchcraft is set out against Altha, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom.

1942: As World War II rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand, crumbling estate. Straitjacketed by societal convention, she longs for the robust education her brother receives - and for her mother, long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are a locket bearing the initial W and the word "weyward" scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

Weaving together the stories of three extraordinary women across five centuries, Emilia Hart's Weyward is an enthralling novel of female resilience and the transformative power of the natural world.

Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

On Crow Island, people whisper that real magic lurks just below the surface. But magic doesn't interest Annie Mason. Not after it stole her future. She's only on the island to settle her late father's estate and, hopefully, reconnect with her long-absent best friend, Beatrice. Yet Crow Island is brimming with temptation, and the most mesmerizing may be her enigmatic new neighbor. Mysterious and alluring, Emmeline Delacroix is a figure shadowed by rumors of witchcraft. Soon, Annie is drawn into a glittering, haunted world.

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Happy STS! It's time to know about the thoughts that keep your oc(s) up at night; what cringey memory still haunts them to this day? -HD

Hello! Happy Storyteller Saturday to you too.

This is a very interesting question, so thanks for that. To be honest, I haven't really thought deeply about this for all of my characters... but I have a couple of ideas for some of them that are actually made relevant within their arcs throughout the story.

Here are some of the memories/thoughts that haunt the characters in my main WIP:

Stephanie

Not really cringy, but she has a lot of crazy intrusive thoughts/nightmares about her late foster sister Melanie. They had a complicated relationship... Mel tried her best to be nice, and welcome Steph into her home, but Steph never fully grew to like or trust her, or any of her foster family members tbh. They fought a lot and ended up on bad terms. After a serious altercation between them, Stephanie has had enough and runs away from home. Shortly after running away, she hears that Mel is dead, and feels super guilty that her last interaction with her foster sister was a fight over something small. (Her dreams get progressively more intense as the story goes on... from basic petty arguments to violent vicious beatdowns that end with Mel getting severely injured. Stephanie gets troubled by her dreams and doesn't know how to deal with them.)

Stephanie is in a serious romantic relationship with a guy named Ben, who eventually has to leave the country for a year due to this work opportunity he got. So they go long distance for a while, and its really hard for her... to the point where she starts getting really paranoid about the possibility of Ben cheating on her (and even has nightmares about it). She tells her friends about her dreams and worries, and they find it funny lol (since it doesn't sound like something Ben would do). This embarrasses Steph a lot.

Elise

Usually a happy character but has her fair share of not-so-happy moments and memories lol. She used to love getting involved in school things, but kind of withdraws later on due to this really complicated family incident... (this is sort of a spoiler for a future post, but imma say it anyway) Her older brother Adam got his girlfriend pregnant while he was still at school, which was a difficult thing for her family to deal with. It was tough for her, too (I mean, her brother ended up getting kicked out! Luckily, she's still managed to maintain a close relationship with him tho), especially once the rest of the school found out about it. It became the main conversation topic everywhere she went. She'd even get teased about it (especially in her old choir that she was a part of. The rumours and teasing got so much for El that she just couldn't be there anymore, despite how much she loved it).

Alice

She asked out a crush from her old school, and got rejected in a really embarrassing way lol. He ended up telling everyone else in their class about it, making fun of the way she phrased the question. By the end of the day, even her sister knew (and she goes to a different school). Alice was humiliated, and this affected the way she views romance and dating to this day.

These are the main ones... although, I'm sure I could think about more examples for the other characters if I tried.

Hope this answers your question! This was really fun and interesting to think about. Thanks again!